Page 98 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2022 DISCOVERING MADRID

El Corte Ingles

El Corte Ingles, an upscale department store
found in cities throughout Spain and Portugal,
is a must stop in Madrid. Not for the high-end
fashion and sundry consumer goods, but for its
impressive basement supermarket and the food
court on the top floor.
The market is like Whole Foods on steroids
with Safeway prices. It’s the place to go for
items smaller grocery stores don’t stock. In our
case, it had all the ingredients we needed for
our Mexican feasts. Plus, there’s an impressive
array of prepared takeaway foods and a sprawl-
ing wine department. Toiletries are plentiful
there too.
On the top floor, the extensive interna-
tional food court offers a respite from the
super-charged shopping streets below and
some of the best views in Madrid. Grab a beer
or wine or coffee from one of the little
restaurants and find a table along the expan-
sive plate-glass window. We were only there
during the day, but at night, the vistas must
glitter below sunset-hued skies.
And that’s where we’re going to leave you,
high above Madrid, a city easy to fall in love
with. And we did. If this city was on the
Mediterranean coast, freed from sizzling
summers and frigid winter, it would undoubt-
edly be the most popular destination in the
world. So for now, when someone asks what is
our favorite place to travel to, we will say
Madrid. In the spring and fall. That’s when the
magic happens.

98 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2022